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Sebastian Valle is one of five Reading Phillies who will participate in the unique Eastern League Home Run Derby at FirstEnergy Stadium.

READING - It's been described as an "all-out assault on your senses" and a "drug-induced Home Run Derby" by national websites Yahoo! Sports and Deadspin.

The Reading Phillies prefer the terms "creative" and "out of the box."

One thing is for certain - tonight's Eastern League All-Star Home Run Derby will be different. Oh, so very different.

Reading is hosting the All-Star Classic for the first time since 1974, and unlike All-Star events in the past, this year it's a two-day spectacle. Day 1, tonight, is the Home Run Derby.

The show isn't so much the players - it's everything between the foul poles.

There will be a bar behind second base and an oyster bar on the infield. Members of the Reading organization - presumably interns - will be trying to shag fly balls while jumping on a trampoline, sitting in an outfield dunk tank, and while being suspended from a crane.

"The truth is that home run derbies are exciting when guys are consistently crushing balls out of the park," Reading Phillies general manager Scott Hunsick-

er said. "In Double-A, we don't have that. So we wanted to come up with something different, something new and exciting that makes every swing fun to watch."

What started with that idea turned into the nearly two-year brainchild that will play out on the FirstEnergy Stadium turf tonight.

Creative ideas kept pouring in during planning stages, and as the picture became clearer, the event morphed into what it is now.

"We never limited ourselves during the brainstorming sessions," Hunsicker said. "We wanted to make something every batter could participate in, and every fan would enjoy."

In a January 2012 video, Hunsicker appeared in a five-minute YouTube segment explaining how the Home Run Derby would work. It breaks down like this:

Each batter (31 in all) gets two minutes to hit, which is different from Major League Baseball's 10-outs rule. Points will be awarded for hitting signs in the outfield, balls caught by mascots and interns, and for home runs as well. Hitting home runs kind of gets lost in all of this.

The point breakdown is never made clear, but spectacular plays like catches on the trampoline and from the crane will be worth more than home runs.

Once all the wildness is stripped away, the event does serve a purpose and needed special approval by the Eastern League to be hosted on a day separate from the All-Star Game.

The R-Phils are pairing with the United Way of Berks County and 31 United Way agencies to raise money and awareness for the organizations. Each batter is paired with an agency, and the winner will earn $1,000 for his agency, in his name.

"We didn't feel right having the players compete on a separate night for us to make money," Hunsicker said. "To do that, we better have a compelling story. We called the Eastern League and explained what we wanted to do, to make it a two-day event and to incorporate the United Way. This is going to benefit a lot of people, and we're just as excited about that as we are about the wildness of it all."

Penske Truck Leasing bought the left-field and right-field grandstands, and gave the tickets to the United Way to sell or give away. Jersey auctions, raffles and donations will all go to the United Way.

R-Phils players that are participating are Darin Ruf, Leandro Castro, Cesar Hernandez, Troy Hanzawa and Sebastian Valle. Every position player will participate and there will be a few extras as well. Former Reading Phillie Michael Spidale will take part, as will Comcast SportsNet analyst and former Reading and Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Ricky Bottalico.

Whether any of those guys hit a mascot will remain to be seen. As crazy as some of the ideas are, some were just too far-fetched.

"Nothing was off-limits for us," Hunsicker said. "The main reason ideas got axed was logistical. We wanted a ring of fire, but we can't have mascots running around chasing down balls with it out there. We did want it, though."

For a complex event that required years of planning, Hunsicker has simple hopes for the outcome.

"We're not trying to send a space shuttle to the moon," Hunsicker said. "We came up with something fun, different and unique. If people leave and had a great time, and laughed, and helped out and learned about the United Way in the process â¦ that's all we want in the end."

(Follow Anthony Burkhart and the Reading Phillies on Twitter at @AnthonyBurkhart)All-Star schedule

At FirstEnergy Stadium Reading

Today's event

Home Run Derby

5:15-6 p.m. - Autographs

7 p.m. - Home Run Derby

Wednesday, July 11

All-Star Game

4 p.m. - VIST Financial Plaza opens

5 p.m. - Seating bowl opens

7:05 p.m. - All-Star Game (post-game fireworks are scheduled)

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